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Writers Guild of America East (WGAE) members and management at Story Syndicate reached a deal on their first collective bargaining agreement that was approved unanimously by the members.
The contract establishes compensation minimums across all titles; introduces the Entertainment Industry Benefit Plan (Flex Plan), which allows nonfiction workers to carry a health fund balance from gig to gig; includes fair minimum rates, especially for those at the lower end of the scale, and annual increases; rest period protections and overtime pay; paid holidays, paid vacation days, bereavement and sick time, two weeks paid paternal leave and enhanced family and medical leave; nondiscrimination and inclusion protections; union security; and no-strike, no-lockout provisions.
Story Syndicate, founded in 2019, produces award-winning nonfiction features and series, including “Harry and Meghan” (Netflix), “Titan: The OceanGate Disaster” (Netflix), “Sally” (National Geographic) and “I’ll Be Gone in the Dark” (HBO).
The Story Syndicate bargaining committee said, “We’re thrilled to celebrate securing our first collective bargaining agreement! We hope our contract will help set precedents throughout the nonfiction TV/film industry, and we stand in solidarity with our colleagues at Motion Picture Editors Guild IATSE Local 700 (MPEG)’s ongoing contract negotiations with Story Syndicate.”